


What Best Friends Are For

by Selah



Series: Advent Challenge 2015 [2]
Category: Jrock, VAMPS (Japanese Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 18:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5343326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selah/pseuds/Selah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is what best friends are for after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Best Friends Are For

**Author's Note:**

> Not related to previous installments. Prompt: stuffed animal. The bear in question was acquired for Hyde during the shooting of _Moon Child_.

Every time he saw it, Hyde smiled. All these years later, it wasn't much to look at anymore. The white had turned slightly yellow with age, the shirt long lost and the leathery orange nose worn and cracked. The ravages of time and being dragged around the world more than once before being retired to a life on a shelf. The bear had never had much intrinsic value, a summer market festival toy, cheaply made and mass produced. He was the shabby and plain cousin when compared to his mountains of other stuffed toys: exotic animals from zoos across the globe, mass market anime merchandise, and a handful of custom handmade plushies gifted by fans. But Gakuma would always be special because he had been the first.

“That old thing has seen better days. You should really just get rid of it.”

A sort of shocked silence descended upon the room.

“You're fired,” Kaz said a beat later, breaking the stillness. The woman looked startled and confused for a moment, but no one seemed particularly inclined towards helping her. Kaz reached over to ruffle his hair and Hyde scowled at him, snatching the pages his friend was waving in his face. Tour schedule. Huffing a disgruntled noise, he sat down and started going through the pages as if he was actually going to remember any of the dates highlighted on them. But the normal action gave everyone else their cue and work continued as if it had never been interrupted. 

Hyde waited for them to be alone before leaning over and poking Kaz in the stomach.

“Kind of an overreaction with the staffer, Kazzie,” he murmured, sprawling across the couch and the other man's lap.

“It was an asshole thing to say about a toy that's obviously been well loved,” the guitarist said with a loose shrug, carding fingers through his hair. “At best, it was thoughtless and you don't need any more of that in your life, old friend. If you want me to hire her back....”

“Nah, it's fine, don't worry about it,” he said, shaking his head just enough to confirm his words but not enough to dislodge those fingers. “You know she's going to complain to HR though.”

“So let her,” he countered, a grin curving his lips. “What are they going to do about it? There's obviously a personality conflict, not like they can give her the job back, I'd just end up firing her again for something else. Or punching her. Or both.”

“You would never punch her, Kazzie,” Hyde said, chuckling. “Thank you, though.”

“You're one of my best friends, Hyde, you don't have to thank me for looking out for you.”

“Yeah, well, thanks anyway.”

“What are friends for? Come on, I'm starving and someone promised curry if we knocked off before 7 tonight.”

“I have no memory of any such promise,” Hyde said, feigning an innocence that Kaz wasn't buying. Laughing, he pulled himself up from the couch and corralled his things. He had a pretty good idea who had actually made that promise and he wasn't going to do anything to put it at risk.


End file.
